Month: December 2015

PUFF DADDY AND THE FAMILY AND “EMPIRE’S” TIMBALAND, YAZZ AND JUSSIE SMOLLETT TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR ON “PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION” LIVE THURSDAY, DECEMBER, 31, ON FOX

TERRY CREWS AND WENDY WILLIAMS TAPPED AS CO-HOSTS

MULTI-PLATINUM ARTIST SHAWN MENDES, CAMILA CABELLO, PRINCE ROYCE, AUSTIN MAHONE, R. CITY, PIA MIA AND THE LEGENDARY EARTH, WIND & FIRE ALSO SET TO PERFORM

METROPCS AND FIAT RETURN AS SPONSORS

Featuring an epic performance by Puff Daddy and the Family, PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION – airing LIVE from Miami on Thursday, Dec. 31 – will be co-hosted by Terry Crews and Wendy Williams.  In addition to Pitbull performing his chart-topping hits, the celebration will feature EMPIRE’s Timbaland and Yazz – sharing the stage for the first time on television – as well as Jussie Smollett, performing songs from the Golden Globe- and Grammy Award-nominated series. The LIVE event also will feature performances by Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Prince Royce, Austin Mahone, R. City, Pia Mia and the legendary Earth, Wind & Fire.

Shot live from Miami’s Bayfront Park, the show kicks off on New Year’s Eve between 8:00-10:00 PM ET live (MT/PT tape-delayed). Then, following local news, PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION returns from 11:00 PM-12:30 AM ET live (CT/MT/PT tape-delayed) for the final countdown to the New Year.

For the second year in a row, MetroPCS will sponsor PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION and host behind-the-scenes content from the event via Periscope (https://www.periscope.tv/MetroPCS).

Also joining for a second year, the FIAT brand will partner with PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION, with a presence on the main stage at Miami’s Bayfront Park.

Film and television star Terry Crews is perhaps best known for his roles in an impressive resume of film and television work, which includes “Everybody Hates Chris,” “The Expendables,” BROOKLYN NINE-NINE and WORLD’S FUNNIEST. Additionally, Crews stars in the wildly popular series of Old Spice commercials. After several years in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles, Crews turned his talents to the performing arts, where his hard work, character and dedication have made him one of the most sought out and respected talents in the industry. A devoted father of five, and fan of great food and fitness, Crews is a positive and impressive force in entertainment, business and the community.

Daytime talk show host, media mogul and best-selling author, Wendy Williams is best known for her long- running and nationally syndicated talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show.” Williams also hosted “The Wendy Williams Experience,” which was her top-rated, daily radio show. One of the most popular personalities in radio, Williams was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November of 2009 – one of only a handful of women with that honor. In 2013, Williams and her husband, Kevin, launched the non-fiction television programming company Wendy Williams Productions (WWP), which works to find, develop and produce original programming, including the Lifetime original movie “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B.” Williams’ television credits include appearances on “30 Rock,” “One Life to Live,”  “Drop Dead Diva,” Season 12 of “Dancing With The Stars” and host of “Love Triangle.” Williams has also appeared in the major motion pictures, including Steve Harvey’s “Think Like A Man,” and took center stage as “Mama Morton” in the Tony-winning revival of the musical “Chicago.”

Sean Diddy Combs, AKA Puff Daddy, is the definition of a mogul. As director of A&R at Uptown Records, he was integral in launching the careers of Mary J. Blige and Jodeci, and later started his own label, Bad Boy Records, which has fostered talent that includes Mariah Carey, Method Man, Boyz II Men, Lil’ Kim and more. Combs’ solo music career began in 1997 with his first single, “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” which shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, quickly followed by a No. 1 debut album that has gone Platinum seven times. This Grammy Award-winning debut was just the start of Combs’ massive career, which has garnered countless No. 1 records, three Grammy Awards and ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year honor.  Recently, he took the internet by storm with his sonic motion picture, “MMM.” Combs has also become an established actor and executive producer in both film and television, appearing in more than a dozen films, including “A Raisin in the Sun,” for which he won an NAACP Award for Best Actor; partnering on TV series such as “Making the Band II;” and executive-producing the Academy Award-winning documentary “Undefeated” and the Academy Award-nominated “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” In 2013, he launched his own music television network, REVOLT, a driving force in music and culture. Combs will release his next full-length album, “No Way Out 2,” in 2016.

Timbaland is an artist, record producer and songwriter who has had over 20 Grammy nominations and four wins for Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love” and Justin Timberlake’s “Love Stoned,” “Sexy Back” and “Pusher Love Girl.” Timbaland’s production credits include work with Jay-Z, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Lovato and countless others. As a rapper, he released several albums with Magoo, but later released his debut solo album, “Tim’s Bio,” in 1998. In 2007, Timbaland released “Shock Value,” which was followed by “Shock Value II” in 2009. In 2013, he served as the main producer of Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience,” and also recently produced Beyoncé’s “Grown Woman” and “I Don’t Have To Sleep to Dream” by Cher. Timbaland is currently the music producer for the Golden Globe- and Grammy Award-nominated EMPIRE.

An accomplished musician, Bryshere “Yazz” Gray currently stars as “Hakeem Lyon” on the Golden Globe-nominated series EMPIRE, for which he has received a nomination in the NAACP category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He has performed at Jay-Z’s 2013 Man in America Festival, Sunoco’s Welcome America 4^th of July Celebration, the annual Roots Picnic Festival, Philadelphia’s signature annual ODUNDE Celebration and Power 99’s 2013 Powerhouse concert. He also has opened for rappers Fabolous and 2 Chainz. Gray spent last spring on the “YTG Tour” of juvenile facilities to help kids at risk.

Actor, singer and songwriter Jussie Smollett currently stars as “Jamal Lyon” on EMPIRE, and can be heard on the Grammy Award-nominated, Billboard 200, No. 1-selling album, “EMPIRE: Original Soundtrack from Season 1.” He has received NAACP nominations for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” and “Outstanding New Artist,” among others. His film credits include “The Mighty Ducks,” “North,” “Born to Race: Fast Track,” “The Skinny” and more. He also starred with his five real-life siblings in the network comedy “On Our Own,” and has appeared on “Revenge” and “The Mindy Project.”

Singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes has transformed from teen viral sensation to major best-selling artist almost overnight. Mendes’ debut single, “Life Of The Party,” broke records, topping the iTunes Charts and selling more than 150,000 copies in its first week. The song made him the youngest artist ever to break into the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 25 with a debut single. Mendes’ self-titled debut EP also hit the No. 1 spot on iTunes and entered at No. 5 on the Billboard album charts. In April 2015, Mendes released his debut album, “Handwritten,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and includes and includes #1 at Top 40 Radio certified triple platinum single “Stitches” as well as certified platinum single “Life of the Party,” and certified gold “Something Big.” In addition to joining Taylor Swift on her The 1989 World Tour, Mendes has been on his own sold out headlining tour including a sold out shows at LA’s Greek Theatre and Radio City Music Hall.

Camila Cabello got her start as a part of the pop group Fifth Harmony, which has released multiplatinum hit singles “Worth It,” “Bo$$” and “Sledgehammer.” In 2015, Cabello released a collaboration with her friend, multiplatinum-selling artist Shawn Mendes, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which is currently Top 20 at Pop Radio. 2016 will see Cabello and Fifth Harmony release their highly anticipated sophomore album, the follow up to 2015’s “Reflection.” The talented vocalist and musician has grown from teen songwriter crafting emotional ballads in her bedroom to arena-rocking, chart-topping pop star.

Prince Royce wowed audiences this summer with the release of his first-ever English language album, “Double Vision,” featuring Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Tyga and Kid Ink. He performed his Latin Grammy Award-nominated hit single, “Back It Up,” featuring Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez, at the Latin Grammys, AMERICAN IDOL XIV, Good Morning America, The View and The Talk. “Double Vision” also features Royce’s hit single, “Stuck On A Feeling,” featuring Snoop Dogg, which quickly topped the charts. After an action-packed year, Royce wrapped his first U.S. tour with Ariana Grande in October 2015. His brand new Spanish-language single “Culpa Al Corazón” is out now and quickly climbing the charts.

Earth, Wind & Fire is one of the world’s top-selling musical groups of all-time. Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, Earth, Wind & Fire has earned eight Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and was presented with the prestigious Soul Train Legend Award. The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and is still after five decades one of the world’s top touring bands. The band’s signature sound transcends all musical genres and has a groove as deep as the soul of the planet. In 2014, the band released its 23^rd album, “Holiday,” which included classic and new songs for the season. In April 2014, lead singer Philip Bailey released his memoir, “SHINING STAR: Braving the Elements of Earth, Wind & Fire.” “Shining Star” is a story of triumph and challenges, chronicling the band’s iconic rise to the top.

Nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter Austin Mahone is back with the funky new single “Dirty Work,” the first track off his upcoming, debut full-length album. The single became a worldwide trending topic, shot Mahone to the top of the Billboard social charts and spawned a music video that racked up more than one million views in its first 24 hours of release, with more than 18 million views to date. Last May, his debut EP, “The Secret,” landed him a Top 5 chart position on the Billboard 200, and his previous hit singles, “What About Love” and “Banga! Banga!,” have collectively garnered more than 200 million views on YouTube. In 2013, he won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, was named MTV’s “Artist to Watch” and was awarded the MTV Europe Music Awards for “Best Push Artist” and “Artist on The Rise.”

R. City is comprised of St. Thomas-born brothers, Theron and Timothy Thomas. The duo has collaborated with and written hits for artists including Usher, Justin Bieber, and Nicki Minaj, among others. R. City recently released their debut album “What Dreams Are Made Of” featuring their Platinum-selling hit single “Locked Away” which has been downloaded over 1.4 million times, and streamed over 166 million times in the U.S.  The debut single hit #1 on both the Shazam Worldwide Top 200 chart and Billboard’s Pop chart. Their new single “Make Up” is at radio now and already has 2 million streams on Spotify and approximately half a million views on Vevo. Their music, which they dub “Caribbean hip-hop,” embraces cinematic storytelling and their island roots.

Island girl Pia Mia is a recording artist, entrepreneur, songwriter, fashion icon, dancer, actress and Krav Maga instructor. At the age of 17, she formed Wolfpack Entertainment, signing herself as the record label’s first artist, and then signed with Interscope Records. In 2014, Billboard magazine named Mia one of eight “acts who will help define 2014.” That same year, she released her debut EP, “The Gift.” In early 2015, Mia released her first official single, “Do It Again,” which has sold more than 600,000 copies.  The rising star is set to do it again with her second major label single, “Touch.”

PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION is a presentation of Endemol Shine North America and Honey I’m Home. “Like” Pitbull at www.facebook.com/pitbull and follow him on Twitter @pitbull. “Like” FOX at www.facebook.com/foxtv and follow FOX @FOXTV.

About Endemol Shine North America

Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the newly launched global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies in the U.S. that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world. Its Endemol Shine Latino division oversees all Spanish-language sales and development in both the U.S. and Mexico. And subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Original Media, True Entertainment and 51 Minds Entertainment. In addition, Endemol Shine North America has a strategic partnership with Ryan Seacrest Productions.

Endemol Shine Group’s companies in North America are behind hit series, including ”Below Deck” (Bravo), ”Big Brother” (CBS), ”The Biggest Loser” (NBC), BULLSEYE (FOX), “Hell on Wheels” (AMC), ”Ink Master” (Spike), ”It Takes a Church” (GSN), “Kingdom” (DirecTV), ”Knife Fight” (Esquire),  MASTERCHEF (FOX), MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (FOX), ”Restaurant Startup” (CNBC), “Swamp People” (History), “The Island” (NBC), ”The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), ”Steve Harvey” (NBCU),”T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” (VH1), ”Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” (CMT) and many more.

About Armando Christian Perez (Pitbull)

Armando Christian Perez, known around the world as Pitbull, is an internationally successful musician, performer, business entrepreneur, fashion icon and actor. His rise to popularity exemplifies the American Dream: He began on the streets of Miami and now commands stages around the world. Away from the spotlight, he is also an education advocate. From Mr. 305 to Mr. Worldwide, he transforms challenges into positive experiences and lives by a personal code that balances hard work with enjoying life. Pitbull’s career sales have exceeded six million albums and 70 million singles worldwide. He has scored No. 1 hits in more than 15 countries; his videos have over eight billion views; and his social media reach matches audiences of some television networks. Pitbull continues his ascent in the era of streaming music. On Pandora, his all-time metrics include 3.34 billion streams, 14.5 million stations created and 11.2 million active listeners per month, with “Give Me Everything,” his most streamed song at 368 million. In addition to the United States, his sold-out world concert tours have taken him to North and South America, Europe and the Far East. He has also completed headlining tours in China and Japan. Learn more at www.pitbullmusic.com.

About the FIAT Brand

The FIAT brand stands for discovery through passionate self-expression. That philosophy is embodied by the iconic Fiat 500 or Cinquecento – a small car that lives big. Italian at heart and rooted in a rich heritage, the 500 is sold in more than 100 countries around the world and is synonymous with modern, simple design blending form, function, technology and a pride of ownership that is genuine. In North America, the Fiat 500 was introduced in March 2011 and was soon followed by the Fiat 500c (Cabrio), the high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth and Abarth Cabrio, the fully electric Fiat 500e and the five-passenger Fiat 500L. The FIAT brand continues to expand with the introduction of the Fiat 500X, an all-new crossover that combines Italian style with functionality, performance and available all-wheel drive confidence. For more information on the FIAT brand, visit the FIAT Facebook page (www.facebook.com/fiatusa) or Twitter account (www.twitter.com/fiatusa).